The Jaw

Much like bird beaks vary in size and shape due to different diets and feeding habits the same pattern occurs in Pterosaurs. The variety of teeth and shape in Pterosaurs is truly astounding. Dsungaripterus (Mac/Win) had upturned jaws and two different types of teeth designed to pry open mollusks and crush the shell. Rhamphorhynchus (Mac/Win) had long inter meshing teeth superbly adapted to catching slippery prey. Pterodactylus (Mac/Win) had long narrow jaws designed for probing sand and shallow marshes for invertebrates. Tapejara (Mac/Win) appears to have had tweezer-like jaws used to pluck fruit from branches.

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© Patrick Lyons 1998.